The choice for today’s college students is to do again what they did in their youthful exuberance of 2008: follow the Teleprompter-Reader-in-Chief or choose to grow up and look at the reality of the economic doom and joblessness around them.
Students need to realize that the “Pied Piper” of 2008, Barack Obama, has led them and America down the wrong path and has done little to improve economic conditions in this country. He has increased our debt more than any other president in history.
Forbes wrote a piece not too long ago estimating that the U.S. accumulated debt plus long-term unfunded commitments is 70 trillion dollars. I have heard other numbers estimating 100 and 140 trillion even. The world GDP is right at 61 trillion. Meaning, every human being in the entire world could not pay off this debt our country owes.
That’s the path Keynesians like Obama wants us to continue to follow in November. Foolish.
When Obama says he has “created” more wealth through government jobs, he is wrong. Government cannot create wealth; producing something of value and selling/trading it at a price creates wealth.
Giving grants and bailouts to individuals, corporations and special interest groups is redistributing the wealth. F.A. Hayek called this “Fatal Conceit.”
Think about it. Where does government get the money to give a grant? From taxes. And where does the government get taxes? From individuals that produce a taxable wealth. All government programs are forms of redistribution.
How many promises has Obama broken? Many. Why are there very few democratic candidates asking for the President’s support in November? Because not even they support him.
The Tea Party movement, which was begun by Libertarians decades ago, is one that should attract many youth who want to reinvigorate our country and its freedoms. And it has. We, the University Libertarians, have 47 members in our economic reform sub-group focusing on Austrian Economics.
In fact, the economic reform sub-group is hosting Craig James on Oct. 8. Mr. James is a prominent ESPN college football host and is promoting free market economies. Check your Friday Update for more details.
Obama is so arrogant, that he has written off the Tea Party. When a grassroots movement rises up in protest, a president should listen. Obama has not and has in turn alienated even his primary Democrat base supporters.
Obama knows there will be a blood bath on Nov. 2. You could tell by the tone in last Thursday’s speech. His voice and approach have changed from challenging and bolstering to chiding and berating.
Tea Party principles are what our Founding Fathers had in mind when our country was conceived. Returning to those roots and adhering to the Constitution as written will preserve us better than increasing the size and scope of governance. The Tea Party has principle.
Obama, throughout his speech, pointed his finger at Bush for starting this mess. I agree with him. Bush started this mess and the landslide of big government. However, he has been out of office for two years now.
If what Bush was doing was so bad, why has Obama perpetuated it? He has had two years in office to “change” the failed policies of the current administration. He has done nothing but agree with Bush.
Yes, we are pulling out of Iraq. Great! But we are moving right into Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. Obama is continuing the policing policies of Bush.
The underlying subtext of his recent speeches has been, “Without government to help, you’ll never be able to make it.” That is not the American Dream. That is not what we fled from Great Britain to pursue.
Students, November is right around the corner. Register to vote and end this madness. End the failed Keynesian policies being passed everyday. Vote for a constitutionalist.
But be weary of imitators. Platforms tend to shift around election time and then shift back when it comes to voting on legislation.
If the candidate you are voting for was foolish enough to blindly vote for bailouts, either under Bush or Obama, Democrat or Republican, don’t vote for them again. They do not have principle or an understanding of economics.
Remember, Libertarians vote on principle: a vote for us means we will follow the Constitution. We will never vote for bigger government, and we never have.
Spencer Price Matthew is a senior marketing major. He is also the vice president of University Libertarians, www.universitylibertarians.com. He can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected] or [email protected].
